5 April 2012
Bern, Switzerland
The Swiss Graduate Society of Logic and Philosophy of Science (SGSLPS) organises a one-day conference on COMPUTABILITY AND LOGIC on April 5 in Bern. Computability is the ability to solve a problem in an effective manner. It is a key topic of the field of computability theory within mathematical logic and of the theory of computation within computer science. The theoretical and technological discoveries of the last century enable us to compute more than has ever been possible before. Ever since Alan Turing we have also been aware of things we cannot compute. The results of Kurt Gödel eventually showed that the uncomputable plays an important role in mathematical logic. Reciprocally mathematical logic has become the main tool of computer science. We have the pleasure to announce that Prof. S Barry Cooper will open the event, giving a two hours tutorial. Deeply involved in The Alan Turing Year, he will focus on the notion of "computation" and expose several related questions that were raised by Alan Turing's work. After this introduction, two young researchers will present their work in the broad field of computability and logic. Zoé Christoff will concentrate on Gödel's incompleteness theorems, discuss their meaning as well as their bearing on foundational issues in mathematics and present some related uncomputability results from a philosopher's point of view. Alessandro Facchini, the recipient of the 2011 Paul Bernays award, will shed light on two simple examples of "the unusual effectiveness of logic in computer science". Invited Speakers: Prof. S Barry Cooper (University of Leeds) Zoé Christoff (ILLC, Amsterdam) Dr Alessandro Facchini (University of Amsterdam) Titles and abstracts can be found here. Please find a full program on www.sgslps.ch. All are welcome! The SGSLPS is an association of advanced undergraduate and graduate students concerned with logic and/or philosophy of science. Its aim is to promote logic among young scientists of a wide range of disciplines including, but not restricted to, mathematics, philosophy and computer science. It presents high level introductory events on chosen topics from the field of logic to all those with an interest in this domain. For the SGSLPS, Marion Haemmerli (Lausanne), Kevin Fournier (Lausanne), Yann Pequignot (Lausanne) and Dandolo Flumini (Bern)